Master Blaster | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: N.C :|| x6
||: Cm | Cm Bb | Ab | Ab G |
| F | F | Cm | Bb :|| x3
Verse 1
| Cm | Cm Bb | Ab | Ab G |
Everyone’s feeling pretty, it’s hotter than July.
| F | F | Cm | Bb |
Though the world’s full of problems, they couldn’t touch us even if they tried.
| Cm | Cm Bb | Ab | Ab G |
From the park I hear rhythms, Marley’s hot on the box.
| F | F | Cm | Bb |
Tonight there will be a party, on the corner at the end of the block.
Chorus 1
||: Cm | G | F | F :||
Didn’t know you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
I said nobody ever told you that you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
You would be jammin’ and jammin’ and jammin’, jam on.
Instrumental 1
||: Minor pentatonic riff 1 :||
Verse 2
They want us to join their fighting, but our answer today,
is to let all our worries, like the breeze through our fingers slip away.
Peace has come to Zimbabwe, third world’s right on the one,
now’s the time for celebration, ’cause we’ve only just begun.
Chorus 2
Didn’t know that you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
Bet you nobody ever told you that you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
I bet you nobody ever told you that you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
I know nobody told you that you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
We’re jammin’, jammin’, jammin’, jam on.
Instrumental 2
||: Minor pentatonic riff 2 :||
Solo
| Cm | Cm Bb | Ab | Ab G |
| F | F | Cm | Bb |
Verse 3
You ask me am I happy, well as matter of fact,
I can say that I’m ecstatic, ’cause we all just made a pact.
We’ve agreed to get together, joined as children in Jah.
When you’re moving in the positive, your destination is the brightest star.
Chorus 3
You didn’t know that you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
I bet you nobody ever told you that you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Oh, Oh, Oh… you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Don’t you stop the music, oh no…
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Na, na na… Nobody told you…
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Oh, Oh, Oh, you, would be jammin’ until the break of dawn.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
I bet you if someone approached you yesterday to tell you that you would be jammin’ you would not believe it because you never thought that you would be jammin’.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, jammin’, ’til the break of dawn.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Oh, Oh, You may as well believe what you are feeling because you feel your body jammin’.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Oh, Oh, you would be jammin’ until the break of dawn, oh, woo-hoo.
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Baby, baby…
(We’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’).
Master Blaster Chords: Learn the progressions
Master Blaster‘s chord progressions break all sorts of harmonic rules.
The descending verse progression only has the home chord as a minor, the rest are major chords. This makes it very difficult to determine if that home is chord VI or II.
The ambiguity of, are we in Dorian or Aeolian, is a huge part of Master Blaster’s sound.
Usually, we look to the vocal melody for clues but the entire melody, just like the instrumental sections, only use the C Minor Pentatonic so there is no way to tell.
Let’s take a look at Master Blaster’s verse chords. Cm is chord VI, but it’s also chord II, exactly when they switch over is ambiguous, try it to find out if you can feel it.
Cm is chord VI:
||: Cm (VI) | Cm Bb (V) | Ab (IV) | Ab G (IIIx) |
| F (IIx) | F | Cm (VI) | Bb (V) :||
Cm is chord II:
||: Cm (II) | Cm Bb (I) | Ab (bVIIx) | Ab G (VIx) |
| F (V) | F | Cm (II) | Bb (I) :||
The chorus is easier to understand even though it breaks harmonic rules as well. We could now look at Cm as chord Im, II, or VI.
Here it is as chord Im (we change chord I temporarily to minor):
||: Cm (Im) | G (V) | F (IV) | F :||
As chord II we get these Roman Numerals:
||: Cm (II) | G (VIx) | F (V) | F :||
I really feel this II – V with a VIx passing chord is the best way to describe Master Blaster’s chorus chords. Compare this to I Heard It Through The Grapevine’s verse, it’s identical!
Lastly, here’s the chorus as chord VI.
||: Cm (VI) | G (IIIx) | F (IIx) | F :||
Here’s a chord chart I made for you.
Master Blaster Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
I simplified the chart, it doesn’t tell you how many verses there are for example. But since the verse is always followed by a chorus you can’t really go wrong.
As the song is about jamming, maybe your band will deviate from the original structure anyway.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Master Blaster Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Master Blaster iReal Pro.
Below is a preview of how we practise Master Blaster in the course. It’s all about playing everything all over the neck, even the instrumental section!
Master Blaster TAB | Course Preview
In the step-by-step course, I’ll take you through how to play all of Master Blaster’s chords all over the neck.
This involves building rhythm parts for the verse and the chorus. Using these examples as a starting point, you will soon be able to play Master Blaster in an improvised way, or as the title suggests – by Jammin’!
We also look at the instrumental sections. Above, you see a play–along TAB loop of this using the Em shape. In the course, we play this in all CAGED shapes.
Using an Em shape is the easiest way to play Master Blaster’s instrumental section, try it along with the video already now.
When you can play in all areas, learning the second instrumental section will be surprisingly easy.
In the course, you get play-along TAB loops like this for the verse and chorus as well. Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Master Blaster – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Master Blaster is a tribute to Bob Marley!
Master Blaster (Jammin’) is a single from Stevie Wonder’s album Hotter Than July. Released in 1980 it is a tribute to Bob Marley.
The two legends met at a benefit concert for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind in 1975. As well as sharing the bill, they sang I Shot The Sheriff and Superstition together.
Master Blaster spent seven weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard charts and has become a milestone to learn for musicians, mainly down to the two intricate minor pentatonic instrumental sections.
As a professional Soul guitarist, you must know how to play this classic with your eyes closed at the drop of a hat, Master Blaster is a standard in this genre.
Hotter Than July was probably Stevie Wonder’s last great album, only Part-Time Lover from the album In Square Circle (1985) has anywhere near the same quality as what we get here. Although the production for all of In Square Circle is terrible.
Stevie’s golden era started in 1968 with For Once In My Life and lasted 12 years. During this time he released perhaps the highest-quality of music by any artist, ever.
Master Blaster Chords | Related Pages
Master Blaster (Jammin’) | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
The final series of lessons are done around Stevie Wonder’s masterpiece Master Blaster (Jammin’). As the title suggests, this is all about improvisation.
As a bonus, you’ll know that when you can play the instrumental sections, you know your Minor Pentatonic well enough.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- Could You Be Loved chords by Bob Marley
- I Shot The Sheriff chords by Bob Marley
- I Wish chords by Stevie Wonder
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) chords by Stevie Wonder
- Sir Duke chords by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder tunes
Stevie Wonder is the legend whom most practising musicians come across and who has a life-changing impact on them.
Stevie’s natural groove and ability to purely express music are untouched. His vocal phrasing and songwriting are second to none.
Stevie Wonder on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Master Blaster’s chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
